KILGORE, Texas—Texas Mutual Insurance Company has awarded a $100,000 grant to Kilgore College (KC) to fund the KC Risk Management Institute, which provides free workplace safety courses for employers, employees and the general public.

Texas Mutual Vice President of Public Affairs Jo Betsy Norton presented KC Vice President of Instruction Gerald Stanglin, Ed.D., with the $100,000 grant on Monday, February 4.

“We are grateful for the support that Texas Mutual continues to show Kilgore College and this safety institute, which provides a great value for East Texas employers and employees,” said Dr. Stanglin. “Since the beginning of our partnership, we knew that the KC Risk Management Institute would be a valuable resource for our community. It has been instrumental in providing safety training for business and industry professionals that helps save lives and prevent injuries on the job.”

This is the sixth consecutive year that Texas Mutual—the state’s leading provider of workers’ compensation insurance—has given the $100,000 grant to the college to sustain the Risk Management Institute.

KC is one of three community colleges in Texas, in addition to Midland College and College of the Mainland in Texas City, that provides these free safety classes via funding from Texas Mutual. Texas Mutual has awarded a combined $3.1 million in safety education grants since 1999.

Since the inception of the KC Risk Management Institute in 2008, employees from more than 700 companies have traveled to KC from 76 Texas counties to take advantage of these free courses. More than half of these employees lived in KC’s four-county service area of Gregg, Harrison, Rusk and Upshur counties.

Over the past five years, the KC Risk Management Institute has hosted more than 250 workplace safety classes for approximately 3,000 attendees, and nearly 900 individuals have received OSHA certification through available courses.

KC sets course topics in response to the needs of area businesses and industries. Courses offered periodically at the Risk Management Institute include accident investigation, OSHA training and certification, Spanish for safety supervisors and small business safety, among others.

“Workplace safety education is always a sound investment,” said Norton. “These grants, along with other Texas Mutual safety programs, exemplify the company’s ongoing commitment to workplace safety and the prevention of workplace accidents through education. We recognize the value safety education provides to employers—giving them tools to keep their businesses, and more importantly, their employees safe.”

Austin-based Texas Mutual Insurance Company is the state’s leading provider of workers’ compensation insurance, with approximately 35 percent of the market. Since 1991, the company has provided a stable, competitively priced source of workers’ comp insurance for Texas employers. Helping employers prevent workplace accidents is a major part of Texas Mutual’s mission. For more information, visit www.texasmutual.com.